1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a display device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, research into flat panel display devices, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display devices, field emission display devices, and organic light-emitting display devices, has been actively undertaken. Among such flat panel display devices, LCD devices and organic light-emitting display devices have recently come to prominence, due to advantages thereof, such as adaptability to mass production, easy implementation of driving units, as well as the realization of high resolution.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an LCD device of the related art.
The LCD device includes a display panel 110 in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in the form of a matrix to display images, a backlight unit disposed at the rear of the display panel to emit light across the entire area of the display panel 110, and a panel guide 145 housing and fixing the display panel 110 and the backlight unit.
The display panel 110 includes a color filter substrate 105 and an array substrate 115 connected to each other while facing each other, such that uniform cell gaps are maintained. The display panel 110 further includes a liquid crystal layer (not shown) situated between the color filter substrate 105 and the array substrate 115.
Top and bottom polarizers 101 and 111 are attached to outer portions of the display panel 110. The bottom polarizer 111 polarizes light that has passed through the backlight unit, while the top polarizer 101 polarizes light that has passed through the display panel 110.
Specifically, the backlight unit includes a reflector 141 disposed on top of a cover bottom 150, a light-emitting diode (LED) assembly 130 disposed adjacently to at least one edge of the reflector 141, and a light guide plate 142 disposed on a path on which light generated by the LED array 130 exits to emit the light in the direction toward the display panel 110.
The LED assembly 130 includes a plurality of LED arrays 131 and an LED housing 132 to which a printed circuit board (PCB, not shown) driving the LED arrays 131 is attached. Light generated by LED arrays 131 enters the transparent light guide plate 142 through one edge thereof, and light that would otherwise exit the light guide plate 142 through the rear surface is reflected by the reflector 141 disposed on the rear surface of the light guide plate 142 in the direction toward optical sheets 143 disposed on top of the light guide plate 142. This can consequently reduce light loss while improving the uniformity of backlighting.
The display panel 110, including the color filter substrate 105 and the array substrate 115, is seated on the top portion of the backlight unit using the panel guide 145. The display panel 110, the panel guide 145, and the backlight unit are connected to each other by the cover bottom 150 having a plurality of fastening devices 170 disposed on the bottom portion and a case top 160 disposed on the top portion.
However, in the above-described display device of the related art, the coupling structure of the display panel or the backlight unit uses a plurality of fastening means, such as the LED array, the LED housing, the panel guide, and the cover bottom. This consequently complicates the assembly process and increases assembly costs, both of which are problematic.
In particular, misalignment occurs in the coupling portions of the display panel and the backlight unit due to accumulated allowances of components. This consequently causes luminance degradation and defective screen images in the display device, thereby lowering the marketability of the display device and the degree of commitment to images displayed on the screen.